We’re calling on the UK Government to publish the full detail behind Keir Starmer’s trip to Palantir HQ with Peter Mandelson – and the subsequent £240m Ministry of Defence contract
There has been justified fury this week in response to reports that Peter Mandelson allegedly leaked sensitive Government information to Jeffrey Epstein.
But, appalling though it is, this is more than a scandal around just one political figure.
It has opened up serious questions about just how close our Government is to US Big Tech – and the huge risks that come with this relationship.
Foxglove has worked for years to push back against the influence and involvement of US tech giants in the UK Government.
Specifically, we worked to try to prevent the involvement of spy tech firm Palantir in our NHS.
Palantir is a company with a terrible track record. They help governments, intelligence agencies, and border forces to spy on innocent citizens and target minorities and the poor.
More recently, Palantir has been providing services to both Trump’s paramilitary immigration agency, ICE, and to the IDF. Its founder and Chair, Peter Thiel, has said he does not believe democracy and freedom are compatible.
This is not a firm that should be anywhere near our public services.
Unfortunately, that’s not how Peter Mandelson – or his colleagues in Government – see it.
Palantir was – and according to the latest transparency filings, still is – a client of the lobbying firm Peter Mandelson founded. When Mandelson returned to Government, as US Ambassador, he retained a stake in his firm, Global Counsel, reportedly worth around 21%.
Meanwhile, the UK Government’s relationship with Palantir went from strength to strength. On Keir Starmer’s first visit as Prime Minister to Washington DC, his trip to Palantir’s HQ came second only to the White House itself.
That visit was, we know from freedom of information requests, organised by the British Embassy – headed, at that time, by Peter Mandelson.
Later that same year, in December 2025, the UK Government announced that Palantir had won a new deal with the Ministry of Defence, worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
We don’t know if these developments were linked, or what lies behind them. The Government has refused our freedom of information requests which would have shed light on the Prime Minister’s visit and the MoD contract.
That’s why we’ve written to the UK’s most senior civil servant, asking him for full transparency around Lord Mandelson’s links with Peter Thiel’s firm.
What contact did he have with them during his time as Ambassador? What role, if any, did he have in negotiating contracts, or organising the Prime Minister’s visit to Palantir HQ? Did he share any sensitive information which he shouldn’t have?
It’s essential that we get answers to these questions as soon as possible. For too long, the details of the UK Government’s links with Trump’s big tech allies have remained in the shadows, hidden behind splashy, shallow PR and photo ops.
If you agree, please join our call on the Government to come clean by hitting the button below. And then hit the button below that to sign up to hear more about our work – we’ll keep you posted on how we get on.
